This invention relates to protein compounds, and more particularly, to the recovery of water-soluble protein compounds from fresh vegetation or plant material.
It has long been recognized that the plant world is the largest source of proteins available to us, but heretofore consumption of this plant protein has been severely limited in human nutrition because it is generally not available in forms consonant with human digestion.
Furthermore, it being known that many plants produce toxic substances within themselves, it has not been possible to rely on processing of plants in known ways so as to assure their safe consumption for human beings.
This lack of secure purity in plant materials has had an inhibiting effect on the use of plant-derived proteins in human nutrition. It is clear that a process which renders such sources substantially harmless would be extremely beneficial.
Heretofore the arts by which proteins in plants have generally been produced render the final product substantially insoluble in water. The lack of this solubility has made it difficult to introduce extracted plant proteins into human diets.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to recover a substantially water-soluble protein product from plant materials.
Another object is to recover a substantially water-soluble, non-toxic protein product from fresh plant material.
Yet another object is to recover a substantially water-soluble, non-toxic protein product from alfalfa.
Still another object is to recover a substantially flavorless protein product from fresh leafy plant materials.
Another object is to more efficiently extract proteins materials by feeding back process liquors into the initial phase of the process flow as described herein.
Another object is to more efficiently de-flavor the protein compounds produced by this process by means of polar solvent extraction by counterflow methods following prior extraction as described herein.